Allegany and Wicomico led Maryland counties in health coverage gains

The largest drops in the uninsured rate in Maryland from 2013 to 2014 when the Affordable Care Act took effect were in Allegany County and Wicomico County at different ends of the state, according to the latest figures from the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC).

The uninsured rate in Allegany in Western Maryland dropped from 9.1 percent in 2013 to 4.7 percent in 2014, down 4.4 percentage points. In Wicomico on the Eastern Shore, the uninsured rate declined from 13.6 percent in 2013 to 8.5 percent in 2014, down 5.1 percentage points. For Maryland as a whole, the uninsured rate declined from 10.2 percent to 7.9 percent, down 2.3 percentage points.

Declines in uninsured rates in other Maryland counties were typically about 1 or 2 percentage points. Figures for all of the counties and Baltimore city, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau and 2014 American Community Survey, can be accessed on SHADAC’s website.